…The Third Coming of President Akufo-Addo: ‘When It Is Coming, It Is Doing’

‘MOMENTS IN HISTORY’ are akin to ‘making irrevocable decisions’ like the crossing of the river Rubicon by Julius Caesar with his army, thereby starting a civil war in Rome in early January 49 BC. Crossing the Rubicon has become an idiom, meaning “passing a point of no return”.

About a year plus ago, I did an article on the same title: “‘THIS IS YOUR MOMENT IN HISTORY, MY DEAR FRIEND’S WIFE’ …It’s A Make Or Break For Us As A Nation And As A People: I Pray You Allow History To Treat You & Your Legacy Well…”

In this article, I alluded to such moments in history as times “when people of various positions of national trust, invariably arrogate to themselves the discharges of certain ‘miscarriages’ of justice for selfish reasons or interests; in order to abort the collective destinies of a nation and a people; as well as for the simple reason that they have been influenced to reach a point, where they cannot change a decision or course of action to the parochial interest of a certain group or political party.”

“In such instances, ‘crossing the Rubicon’ is taken as doing something that one cannot later change and for which, such action will strongly influence future events of a people and or a nation: knowing that in such instances, the stakes constitute really risky investment of time and effort, or dangerous choices that could have dire consequences for the person or persons, who made the decision (s) against the national interest.

Again, in the same article, I stated that “one such moment in Ghana’s history is the forthcoming Saturday, 7^th December, 2024 General Elections to elect the President and Members of the 9^th Fourth Republican Parliament to be organized by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (ECG).”

Furthermore, I intimated that “truth be told, the 2020 National Elections, under the hand of my dear friend’s wife, Jean Adukwei Mensa, has been the most controversial in the history of the Fourth Republican dispensation, or for that matter, since Ghana’s Independence in 1957; especially as we are yet to be informed on the final gazetted results for the Presidential elections, considering the fact that eight (8) different results were declared one after the other in a typical circus setting.”

What was also reported cynically in the same article was that the ‘2024 General Elections, described in general terms as the ‘third coming of President Akufo-Addo’ in the shadow of candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the 5^th Vice President of Ghana’s Fourth Republic; to the extent that the mantra – ‘BREAKING THE EIGHT’ was prominently perfected and announced by him in one of those moments, assured that with my dear friend’s wife at the helm of affairs, it will be like ‘GUTTER, GUTTER’ play or game.’

Cynically, there are too many issues, which have arisen in the interim, urgently requiring our collective attention as a matter of now, so that they could inform the way forward towards the 7^th December 2024 elections.

The first of these issues is the purported intent by the Akufo-Addo government through the Local Government, Decentralisation & Rural Development Ministry to create new districts and or municipalities, with barely eighty (80) days to the general elections of 2024, especially as this exercise will require the creation and the establishment of new constituencies.

This is a laughable proposition, considering the disenfranchising of the residents of Santrokofi, Apkafu, Lolobi and Lipke (SALL) in the Guan district, which was created by the Legislative Instrument (LI) 2416 before the 2020 Elections, to the extent that the residents of the district are still without a Member of Parliament to represent their interests.

I do not want to conjuncture as to the real intent behind the last-minute desire to create the new additional districts and or municipalities, however what I foresee is an attempt to create the same SALL MIRAGE, an illusion to lead to those areas not being allowed to exercise their votes or franchises; and thereby reduce the overall votes to be accumulated by a certain party.

Could it then be one of the ploys to influence the results of the 2024 Elections in favour of a certain party?

There is also the matter of the missing BIOMETRIC VERIFICATION DEVICES (BVDs.) and their impacts on the coming 2024 Elections. Personally, I do not quite get it nor appreciate it as to why suddenly so many things seem to be happening at the Electoral Commission under the control of my dear friend’s wife as the Electoral Commissioner?

Is there any sign at any of the entrances that seems to signify an open invitation for thieves to raid the place as it is now under a new management of Electoral Commissioner, my dear friend’s wife?

It just doesn’t make sense as it is becoming more scarier as we approach the D-Day, Saturday, 7^th December, 2024 for our national elections. What is even funnier still is that after there has been an uproar, we see a short video online with a gentleman, who does not have any idea as to what he was holding?

For me, personally, that is an insult to our collective intelligences as a people and as a nation.

I am also intrigued by the seeming orchestrations and or assumed silences of the Chairman and members of the National Peace Council, who are behaving like ‘Village Elders and Chiefs of ancient times’, who are always pretending not to see the uncompromising attitude of my dear friend’s wife in her handling of issues relating to the Voters Register Forensic Audit.

I recall her time with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), during the tenure of the former President John Dramani Mahama, when there was the call for the same independent forensic audit of the then 2016 Voters Register; and surprisingly, the National Democratic Party (NDC), the governing party, made the call in tandem with such calls from the Christian Council of Ghana, the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Office of the National Chief Imam, Civil Society Organizations, and Traditional and Religious Leaders.

I deem it a curious twist of fate that barely eight (8) years after this stated incident, it has taken the NDC, now in opposition, to rally thousands of its supporters in a nationwide protest to demand the same independent forensic audit of the country’s voter register.

The NDC’s party officials announced that they have identified errors in the electoral roll for the December nationwide poll that require correction. However, my dear friend’s wife, now the Electoral Commissioner and / or the ‘REFEREE’ insists that the ‘errors that were previously identified have been corrected’ and thus, not ready to countenance any forensic audit of any sort.

This standoff, between the NDC and the Electoral Commission, now seems to be heading for another knife-edge presidential election, especially as my dear friend’s wife has assumed the most belligerent posture, picturesque of her days at the IEA, when the NDC has been in power.

The NDC has complained of identified errors in the electoral roll for December’s nationwide poll that require correction, against the EC stating that errors that were previously identified have been corrected; the NDC insisting that thousands of registered voters’ risk being disenfranchised if errors persisted.

You see, the governing party shared the same viewpoint as the EC because they stand to benefit from the current state of affairs of the voters register, if no corrections are effected forthwith, and especially also that the two bodies seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet.

If you talk to the NDC, they will tell you that, they know they are ‘orphans’ in the arena; with nobody there to make any case on their behalf, especially, considering the dire state of intimidation by state security and government officials; the insults from all corners, including people who ought to know better; the arrogance and or acrimony exhibited by public officials – all these are more than enough to scare anybody.

I speak for nobody than the youth, who are poised for a ‘SHOWDOWN’, not the Hon. Kennedy Adjepong type, irrespective and that is most scary.

As a former President of the Republic once said, no death is worth his ascension to the Office of the President of the Republic.

That was him.

Definitely, the same cannot be said for the other party, whose quest for power to provide the grounds for enriching themselves through corruption and state capture, is without measure, including the death of some youth during the 2020 elections.

What we all forget is that this world is akin to the mystical world of puppets, we all come to play a part and when it is time, we exit for some other people to enter the same stage for their own parts in the same play.

It is for the same reason that I wish to inform my dear friend’s wife, the ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER to be mindful of the stormy clouds hanging over us as a nation and as a people; refuse to be manipulated in any way or form by any political actors and do just the right thing, including, acceding to the Voters Register Forensic Audit.

Need I say more…

Written by Magnus Naabe RexDanquah, the Ghanaian.